Yesterday, Jan 06, 2021, I was stuck at the free air post in my neighborhood tire store because the other one down the street offers the same free air with human attendant help finally decided to close the store.
Suddenly when it's my turn to get to the post, my Uber won't start as I hate idling the Internal combustion engine while waiting in the long or short lines.
Well, this one is not pure tires only store, so I think it's great to get serviced as they did free inspection for my Uber onboarding.
Initially I thought it was the battery I bought from junk yard was dying because it has been three or 4 weeks I left the car sitting in the back yard while I was testing the dash thing with the more fuel efficient my 2nd Uber car.
Nope. John gave me the free battery test and said the meter indicates the battery is good for its application. Then , I know money talks from this point on. I asked how much is the charge , he quoted $80+ to do more test.
Being the guy who wanted to do EV 40 years ago when I relocated to Detroit, I 'm glad to know a little knowledge about fixing cars still has its market value. I thought I could be a good service writer if I'm out of money or out of job.
I thanked him for the free battery test and the quote of $80+ to probe further.
I went back to my 2nd Uber/Lyft car, clean and tighten the battery posts as best I can, not like what happened an hour ago in Oak Park where I picked up from the mad stuff next door to Uber and did a dash delivery, this time, no crank at all. I hit the horn, It still sounds normal to me as usual. So I was bracing for worse to come.
I pulled out and visually inspected all fuses, swapping relays in the freezing temperature, nothing works. I decided to call the towing service as I have been paying for this RV class towing for many years and not have a need to call for roadside service. They told me an hour wait this time not like 3 hours+ the last time I called about 10 years ago in a snow storm. Meanwhile, I finally saw one relay marked ST, Looked at the case, It was 12V heavy duty, Normal Open. and it's one of the kind among all other relays, so I thought it must be the right one. Then, My fingers were frozen from being out in the cold air. I went to the store's waiting lobby to get some warm air as car won't idle now and no free heat even if I'm willing to burn the gas for its little side byproduct.
Any way, one hour went by, the tow truck showed up, backing all the way into the alley ready to pick up the car.
I asked the driver, no attempt to charge or start?
He went back into his cab and out with a metal rod I thought he was going to beat me with, I'm threatened with that tire iron?
The hood is open and he just said that's the right relay, put it back in, and instead of beating me with that iron rod, he beat somewhere some metal housing in between engine and torque converter and ordered 'try it now'.
Lord and behold, the engine cranked and started right away.
The driver that earns my respect, not an Uber driver though. I failed the opportunity to get his name to earn my $1000 referral fee to do DoorDash referral.
![IMG_0397.PNG]( "IMG_0397.PNG")
![ReferAFriend1000.png]( "ReferAFriend1000.png")
Suddenly when it's my turn to get to the post, my Uber won't start as I hate idling the Internal combustion engine while waiting in the long or short lines.
Well, this one is not pure tires only store, so I think it's great to get serviced as they did free inspection for my Uber onboarding.
Initially I thought it was the battery I bought from junk yard was dying because it has been three or 4 weeks I left the car sitting in the back yard while I was testing the dash thing with the more fuel efficient my 2nd Uber car.
Nope. John gave me the free battery test and said the meter indicates the battery is good for its application. Then , I know money talks from this point on. I asked how much is the charge , he quoted $80+ to do more test.
Being the guy who wanted to do EV 40 years ago when I relocated to Detroit, I 'm glad to know a little knowledge about fixing cars still has its market value. I thought I could be a good service writer if I'm out of money or out of job.
I thanked him for the free battery test and the quote of $80+ to probe further.
I went back to my 2nd Uber/Lyft car, clean and tighten the battery posts as best I can, not like what happened an hour ago in Oak Park where I picked up from the mad stuff next door to Uber and did a dash delivery, this time, no crank at all. I hit the horn, It still sounds normal to me as usual. So I was bracing for worse to come.
I pulled out and visually inspected all fuses, swapping relays in the freezing temperature, nothing works. I decided to call the towing service as I have been paying for this RV class towing for many years and not have a need to call for roadside service. They told me an hour wait this time not like 3 hours+ the last time I called about 10 years ago in a snow storm. Meanwhile, I finally saw one relay marked ST, Looked at the case, It was 12V heavy duty, Normal Open. and it's one of the kind among all other relays, so I thought it must be the right one. Then, My fingers were frozen from being out in the cold air. I went to the store's waiting lobby to get some warm air as car won't idle now and no free heat even if I'm willing to burn the gas for its little side byproduct.
Any way, one hour went by, the tow truck showed up, backing all the way into the alley ready to pick up the car.
I asked the driver, no attempt to charge or start?
He went back into his cab and out with a metal rod I thought he was going to beat me with, I'm threatened with that tire iron?
The hood is open and he just said that's the right relay, put it back in, and instead of beating me with that iron rod, he beat somewhere some metal housing in between engine and torque converter and ordered 'try it now'.
Lord and behold, the engine cranked and started right away.
The driver that earns my respect, not an Uber driver though. I failed the opportunity to get his name to earn my $1000 referral fee to do DoorDash referral.
